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The Urban Land Institute points to the leading technology companies as a model for the evolving suburban workplace. Companies like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, and Apple have made suburban office properties perform at a high level. These companies “have created iconic, user-centric designs for their headquarters, using smart technologies, large floor plates, a very high level of sustainability, and a wealth of amenities,” such as outdoor seating, amphitheaters, collaborative space, rooftop gardens, cafeterias, grab-and-go cafés, food trucks, fitness centers and athletic fields, child-care and pet-care centers, dry cleaning, banking, gift shops, and facilities for bicycle storage, repair, and sharing.

Long overlooked during the CBD focus of the past three years, some of the best real estate investment opportunities in the office sector today are appearing in rapidly urbanizing suburbs that bring the workplace close to home. Much has been made of the caché offered by downtown office investment and the perceived attraction to high-tech companies and their millennial employees who want to work, shop, and live downtown close to cultural amenities and entertainment. However, for investors staying ahead of the curve, the data tells a different story.

With global capital flowing into U.S. real estate, it’s a great time to dive in to certain sectors, including the office market.

A confluence of global economic trends makes 2016 a compelling year to diversify investment portfolios into U.S. commercial real estate—especially if linked up with professional managers who can target premium opportunities, particularly in markets now getting on to investors radar, such as select suburban office properties.

A confluence of global economic trends make 2016 a compelling year for Latin Americans to diversify investment portfolios into U.S. commercial real estate - especially if linked up with professional managers who can target premium opportunities, particularly in markets now getting onto investor radar, such as select suburban office properties.

LOS ANGELES—According to panelists in the opening session at RealShare L.A., we are in an environment where, “if not messed up,” we can expect a very slow steady expansion. But questions surrounding politics and wage stagnation remain on the horizon.

Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors LLC , said that economic cycles don’t die of old age. “Just because we are in the ninth year, that doesn’t mean that 2018 is the year that the recession hits,” he said. “We should be decoupling the economy from the real estate opportunities… Real estate is a very attractive alternative and the US is a very attractive place to invest.”

Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, LLC, has announced that Scott Lyle, another former Arden Realty/GE Capital senior executive, has joined the firm’s executive team as Principal and Chief Operating Officer. With his operational expertise, Lyle will provide executive oversight for the company’s operations including property management, asset management, leasing and sustainability practices for Palisades’ growing portfolio of core plus and value-add assets in suburban office markets across the western region.

As with so much on Wall Street, the real estate mega-funds have become successful in recent decades, and huge. There is no denying the sophisticated management of a Blackstone Group, a Carlyle Group or Starwood Capital, or their shrewd and experienced insights into global property markets. But with such heft comes seemingly inevitable bureaucratization, and investor returns that regress to the mean, or mirror the market.

1. The mega-fund cannot think small.

If “investment-grade” or class A properties become pricey, the mega-funds with their billions of dollars to invest often have little option but to pay the piper, and hope to improve property performance in years ahead—which is why there is often discussion about “re-positioning” a product after mega-fund purchase. To be sure, there are exceptions, and mega-funds have adapted by shifting to riskier “opportunistic funds” and other options, but such new efforts often underscore that mega-funds are competing with each other’s bank accounts and vast debt resources for the same limited product. That’s survivable in an up-cycle, but if times change?

2. The large institutional investor cannot devote the due diligence and necessary research time to most suburban property markets.

The mega-fund cannot afford to delegate research hours to the due diligence a lone submarket requires, in which only a single acquisition might be justified, and a “small” purchase at that. Remember, mega-funds have a lot of zeroes (i.e., big checks) when investing. If specific or scattered suburban markets are where the future value is, a mega-investor may be forced to forego the opportunity.

3. Loss of meaningful influence.

Suffice it to say, if a Family Office or high net worth individual should suddenly wish to change investment directions, the mega-fund super-tanker could not change course, even if so inclined. Most large property investment vehicles are governed by charter, that is, must keep investing in a set property type, geography, or debt-to-equity ratios. Additionally, there is limited liquidity for investors. And while many large private-equity funds clarified fees after 2008 (when they needed clients), there are still enough quirks that investors are advised to closely review mega-fund expenses and payouts.

4. A passive investment can result in a “passive” performance.

The more a Family Office or individual becomes passive investor, the more one obtains the returns that passive investors “deserve.” That is not a pejorative statement; it is simply a market reality. Joining a league of investors in a mega-fund is a passive undertaking that embeds an investor in a large institutional structure with attendant overhead. Consider a more targeted fund run by managers who have institutional experience but are hands-on, communicative and operationally transparent. These are partners that can flex, find deals and stay on top of how the assets are being managed for often greater return.

1. Some cities and states are growing, some are not. Select accordingly.

The short story is that California, Colorado, Texas and Utah are growing the most rapidly, but check twice on Texas. Lone Star backers may be talking through their hats that oil doesn’t matter anymore. That said, Texas has a favorable business climate and a diverse economy. Five Texas cities added more than 18,000 people each between 2013-20l4; Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Fort Worth. Of the list of fastest-growing small cities, Texas also dominates. Many Golden State cities are doing well (especially Irvine) and an interesting outlier is Columbus, Ohio.

2. There is a lot more suburban office space than urban, and thus more supply to satisfy investor demand.

It is natural to think of skyscrapers when thinking office, but three-quarters of office space nationally is suburban. And in a recent period, suburban office markets accounted for 88% of national net absorption while representing 73% of the square footage, reported the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). True, suburban markets took a hit in the post-2008 recession, many reaching vacancy rates in the 20+% range. And the much-publicized demand for faux-gritty “creative space” does not suggest a newish low-rise on city outskirts. Still, suburban office space becomes more valuable during sustained economic recoveries, while CBD structures often survive downturns. The reason: Tenants migrate to relatively lower rents in either picture. Suburbs with lowest vacancy rates, reports Jones Lang Lasalle: Salt Lake City 6.0%; Boston-Cambridge 8.7%; Portland-Eastside 9.1%; Seattle-Eastside 9.6%; Portland-Vancouver 10.9%.

3. Cities are back. But suburbs didn’t die.

Many large cities are gaining population again after a few sketchy decades, although some Rust Belt titans are still shrinking, such as Detroit and Pittsburgh. Suburbs, however, never really went out of style, and “exurban counties…showed their population growth rise from a low 0.4% in 2011-2012 to 0.6% in 2012-2013,” reports Brookings Institution. Good news for urban cores is not bad news for suburbia.

4. Remember urban congestion and politics.

By the very nature of congestion and density, central urban core development tends to become highly regulated, zoned and politicized. Those realities tend to freeze up supply. Thus, in any sustained economic recovery, tenants find urban cores fully booked and rents prohibitive—which is great news for suburban markets that benefit from spillover. Across the nation, headlines such as this are being read: “Doom and gloom' disappears from suburban office market,” a Chicago Business story on non-CBD scene. The article reports “vacancy (rates) fell to an eight-year low in the second quarter (2015), as expanding companies continued to boost demand for office space.” Brokerage JLL, in a Q2 2015 report, places the bulk of U.S. suburban office markets in the “rents rising” phase of market cycles.

5. Google, Apple, Facebook; All building or have built suburban HQs.

It is true that a sterile suburban office park is the modern synonym for “banal,” but new economy hipsters are reinventing the leafy HQ. The key is to invest the green retreat with amenities, such as restaurants, coffee shops, landscaping, parks, child-care, and architecture. Also worth noting: Microsoft is in woodsy Redmond, not Seattle, and the largest office project under development in the U.S. is Exxon Mobil’s 385-acre campus in the Woodlands suburban submarket of Houston. Plenty of people still like grass lawns, white picket fences and a back patio. And an easy commute to a safe non-urban location.

Palisades Mexico Partners(PMP), a joint venture between Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors LLC, and Sergio Arguelles, president/CEO of Monterrey, Mexico-based real estate development company FINSA, has formed Palisades Income and Growth Fund II. The $150 mil fund will aggregate a quality portfolio of core plus and value-add suburban office properties with a stable annual yield and opportunities for significant capital appreciation

The launch of the new fund comes at a time of aggressive expansion for Palisades Capital Realty Advisors and FINSA, and builds on two highly successful joint ventures, including the success of the PMP's Palisades Private Capital Fund I, establised in 2014. In Mexico, Arguelles recently launched his second non-traded REIT with $350 mil in pension fund commitments to be invested in industrial propertiesand development in Mexico.

Palisades Mexico Partners(PMP), a joint venture between Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors LLC, and Sergio Arguelles, president/CEO of Monterrey, Mexico-based real estate development company FINSA, has formed Palisades Income and Growth Fund II.

The $150 million fund plans to acquire a portfolio of core plus and value-add suburban office properties with a stable annual yield and opportunities for significant capital appreciation in Western U.S. markets. Once fully vested, the fund expects to have invested in about 20 properties across multiple West Coast suburban markets with a total value of $450 million.

Los Angeles-based Palisades Mexico Partners, a joint venture between Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, LLC, and Sergio Arguelles, who is the head of Mexico-based FINSA, a commercial real estate development firm, has some serious acquisition plans.

The new venture between the two firms, called Palisades Income & Growth Fund II, has a reported $150 million to spend on office assets across the West Coast of North America. The team is looking to purchase various suburban office buildings to build up its burgeoning portfolio.

Emerging real estate Investment funds of all types continue to proliferate and with them, a few misconceptions. Here are 3 of them:

Myth 1

The fees are higher. In fact, a well-run independent investment fund can be significantly less expensive than a REIT. Typically, a non-traded REIT charges a fee spread from 3 to 7 per cent. Contrast that to the 1% upfront acquisition fee and the 1.5% ongoing and annual asset management fee that an independent fund can charge. Even combined, this puts the fee below the lowest end of the REIT spectrum. Not all independent funds offer this advantage, but with research they can found and offer tremendous benefit.

Myth 2

Unregistered is unsafe. An unregistered fund that aligns with reputable, public companies will follow the same institutional standards as a registered one – reporting, routines and controls. Look for funds that are partnered with well-known accounting and brokerage firms – a sign that a fund will be offer the same disciplined approach as its partners. In addition, large investors in these funds have more control, greater customization and a more influential seat at the table than with REITs or mega-funds. This influence, institutional infrastructure and the less expensive entry into investment over registered funds, adds up to a safe haven with a greater opportunity for return...

Myth 3

Investment options are limited. In fact, an independent fund will give a Family Office investor more options and more say in the process. A solid fund will be diversified in many strategic markets and can customize the asset, strategy and return based on the explicit objectives of the Family Office portfolio. The best funds will have no tie to interest rates and will provide out-size returns in a wide range of markets that ensure wealth appreciation in the long term.

Palisades Mexico Partners, a joint venture between Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, and Sergio Arguelles, president and CEO of FINSA, has launched Palisades Income & Growth Fund II, a $150 million fund that will acquire core-plus and value-add office properties in suburban markets. The second fund from the partnership, Palisades Income & Growth Fund II pools capital from Latin American-based investors looking to invest in US markets.

“Our investors are family offices and ultra high net worth investors in both the US and Mexico. Mexicans, like other foreign investors, are seeking attractive alternative US dollar-based returns to hedge against local currency and the stock and bond markets,” de Monet tells GlobeSt.com. PMP’s first fund produced 9% to 12% returns with investor equity up 30%. For this fund, de Monet expects 8% current return annually and 15% over the 7- to 10-year hold period.

The Monterrey businessman Sergio Arguelles, along with his partner Joaquin de Monet, created their second real estate investment fund in the United States, which hopes to reach a total value of $450 million over a period of 6 to 12 months.

It is Palisades Income & Growth Fund II, which has already started raising funds last week among Mexican investors, with the aim of acquiring suburban office portfolios in markets in the western U.S. such as Colorado, Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington.

Palisades Mexico Partners has launched Palisades Income & Growth Fund II, which will make investments in US core-plus and value-add suburban office properties on behalf of US and Mexican high-net-worth investors.“We want to create a diversified portfolio approach to achieve income and growth perspective,” said Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors. “We are buying middle-market suburban offices that are fairly stabilized and financing them with longer, fixed-rate loans ranging seven to 10 years. The play is long-term income on a long-term capital basis, and we want to keep the pool small, with a hard cap at $150m," he added.

1. Find a fund manager with a successful operating track record in all real estate cycles not just the current one. The litmus test for fund managers is realizing healthy returns even in a recessionary market. Anyone can ride the current capital markets and target an immediate opportunity, but a manager who can strategically invest and operate for the long haul is one who will build wealth no matter where the market goes.

2. Look for fixed rate financing. Eight out of ten funds invest with adjustable rate financing, a strategy that may look good in the short term but can have significant impact on your ROI when rates increase (and they always do, at some point). Invest with a fund that can lock down rate and provide a stable investment scenario.

3. Diversify locations. Often investors focus on one or two markets that they know best, invariably in cities that are currently on the radar of others. This past recession caught many investors off-guard who had counted on the continued growth of a single location only to have all their assets drop in value simultaneously. Have a balanced geographic allocation, even in a single region, will ensure that you still have the scope and a strategy to shore up the rest of the portfolio despite a downturn.

4. Consider a contrarian approach. It’s no accident that everyone is scrambling to invest in core and core plus assets in urban CBDs. Often these are the most obvious and easiest markets in which to identify a growing demographic or a revitalization initiative that attracts buyers and tenants. As investors re-enforce one another in the feeding frenzy, however, both the cost to acquire and the price per square foot to lease goes significantly up. Businesses that once flocked to overheated urban centers become priced out and retreat to a suburban business address with competitive rates and amenities closer to home. Investors who make the suburban move sooner than later will have the edge.

5. Look for a fund manager with a disciplined reporting process. Family office investors should not have to chase down reports or have in-house accountants do their own calculations. An experienced real estate investment fund will have sophisticated reports and a regular reporting rhythm, providing transparency into both the methodology and return on investment.

“Firms wanted the ability to customize their workplace to fit their corporate culture or brand,” Barr says. “A ‘flexible kit of part’ became the norm and still holds true today. The user has much more power to move through space and define their work style and needs. The space no longer defines how and where the user works.”

Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, tells GlobeSt.com that, looking back 15 years ago, occupancy was primarily driven by the familiar marketing mantra of “location, location, location” and the tipping points of a good rate and TI allowance. “Today, the required design and performance of a business address—both the space and the building it’s in—have become much more complex and more interesting.”

Palisades Private Capital Fund I (PPCFI), a $50-million fund sponsored by Palisades Mexico Partners (PMP), has announced the signing of a new, five-year lease with J-W Power Company for approximately 3,600 SF of office space in the Fund’s recently acquired Plaza Quebec, a Class A office building located at 6025 South Quebec Street in Greenwood Village, Colorado, in the southeast Denver metro area.

Founded more than 40 years ago, J-W Power Company is an industry leader in the leasing, sales and servicing of natural gas compression equipment. The company operates the largest privately owned compression fleet in the U.S. In addition to a warehouse in Longview, Texas, J-W Power Company has 30 locations nationwide.

“We are pleased to welcome the J-W Power Company to Plaza Quebec, as the first new tenant to join since our ownership began earlier this year,” said Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, a partner in ownership. “With the goal of 100 percent occupancy by year end, we are generating early momentum and taking an aggressive approach to the market and making commitments to continue to improve the property over the next several months.”

“We anticipate that Plaza Quebec will do a great job of meeting all of its tenants’ needs, and that J-W Power Company personnel will enjoy the newly renovated lobby and common areas and many amenities,” de Monet added.

Palisades Private Capital Fund I (PPCFI), a $50-million fund sponsored by Palisades Mexico Partners (PMP), has acquired, 4141 N. Scottsdale Road, a 147,356-square-foot, 91.3% leased, three-story class A office building in Scottsdale, Arizona. Located in the heart of Scottsdale’s best location, the famous “Old Town” area, the asset is surrounded by countless amenities, an excellent demographic and a highly professional labor pool.

“For PMP, 4141 represented a unique opportunity to acquire a classic Scottsdale office building that is continuing to attract credit tenants such as Aetna Life Insurance Company and Fresenius Medical Care,” said de Monet. “With 4141 as our second acquisition in the past three weeks and our third acquisition in Arizona since July, we are moving fast to solidify our position in the Phoenix metropolitan area,” he added.

A $50 million fund sponsored by Palisades Mexico Partners has acquired Plaza Quebec in its foray into the Denver market. Palisades Capital Fund I paid $12.75 million for the 94,394 square foot Class A office building at 6025 S. Quebec St. in Centennial. It is "a nice project" to establish the company in the Denver metro area, said Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, a Los Angeles-based investment management and advisory firm.

Palisades Private Capital Fund I (PPCFI) , a $50-million fund sponsored by Palisades Mexico Partners (PMP), has acquired Chandler Corporate Center II, a two-story, 68,443-square-foot office asset in Chandler, Arizona. The building is located adjacent to PPCFIs Chandler Corporate Center I, acquired in July 2014 and situated on 7.24 acres at 585 North Juniper Drive, northwest of Chandler Boulevard and McClintock Drive.

We are extremely optimistic about this location in the Southeast Valley area of the Phoenix metropolitan area, specifically Chandler with its improving economy. The addition of this building, next door to our Chandler I acquisition that was completed in July of last year, creates valuable synergies between the two adjacent properties,” said de Monet. “We are moving fast to generate scale to our Arizona portfolio, and have another property in Phoenix closing next week,” he added.

Built in 2009 and sited on 8.75 acres, Chandler Corporate Center II, and Chandler Corporate Center I, built in 2008, are both LEED-certified for sustainability.

Palisades Private Capital Fund I, a $50-million fund sponsored by Palisades Mexico Partners, has acquired, 4141 N. Scottsdale Rd., a 147,356-square-foot, 91.3% leased, three-story, class A office building in Scottsdale. Located in Old Town, the asset is surrounded by countless amenities, an excellent demographic and a highly professional labor pool.

Sited prominently at the Northeast corner of Scottsdale Road and Indian School Road, the office building offers panoramic views, landscaped courtyards, new hardscape renovations, efficient floor plates for small, medium and large tenants and a three-level subterranean parking garage with a parking ratio of 3.79 per 1,000.

Like anything else out of LA, there's always a sequel. For Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, it's titled Chandler Corporate Center II. Just months after Palisades picked up Chandler Corporate Center I for $14M, it has purchased the sister 68,400 SF office building that's leased to five tenants (including Broadcom and Element Payment Services) from The Rockefeller Group for an undisclosed sum...

Palisades Mexico Partners has launched the Palisades Private Capital Fund I targeting foreign investors from Latin American countries. The fund is currently raising $50 million and plans to raise $100 million in commitments this year. The company is a joint venture between Palisades Capital Realty Advisors and Sergio Arguelles, president and CEO of the Mexican-based firm FINSA.

According to Joaquin de Monet, the founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, the fund aims to capitalize on the recent increase in liquidity in Mexico due to the formation of Mexican REIT FIBRA.

Palisades Mexico Partners targets smaller assets with value-added returns, recently making acquisitions in Chandler, AZ and Brea, CA. The Mexico-based fund also targets core-plus and value-added investments of $10-25 million, with a shorter-term holding period of three to five years. In terms of future activity, the goal is to deploy $150-200 million of capital by the end of 2014.

Amid all the reports of companies abandoning the suburbs and moving to downtown locations, we should not miss out on the significant performance of, and outlook for, the suburban office market in 2014, says de Monet...

Palisades Capital Realty Advisors is another firm hot on the 'burbs. It recently snapped up Chandler Corporate Center I for $14M, another buy in which replacement cost was a factor, according to Joaquin de Monet.

The 68k SF office property in (where else) Chandler hit $207/SF, a huge number for suburban office. It was brokered by JLL's Dennis Desmond for the seller, Held Properties.

PMP is a joint venture of Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, LLC, an investment management and advisory firm, and Sergio Argüelles, president/CEO of Monterrey, Mexico-based FINSA, one of the foremost industrial real estate development firms in the Americas. PMP’s capital campaign is connecting with high net-worth individuals and family offices specifically in Mexico and Latin America. PMP will accumulate a diversified pool of suburban office properties priced below replacement cost, with solid in-place cash flow and average 75% occupancy. De Monet and his team at Palisades Capital will source investments and manage the Fund, improving the assets, creating value and capturing rent growth over the targeted hold period of three to five years.

Brea office building sells for $21 million Summary: Owners of a large office building on Imperial Highway in Brea have sold the property, formerly named the Saturn Business Park, to a commercial realty investment firm.

Palisades Capital Realty Advisors purchased the building, now called 2929 Imperial, for $21 million from Irvine-based The Knoll Company. The deal closed Monday. Knoll purchased the 121,000-square-foot structure in 2012 for just under $11 million with the intention of leasing the available space. Joaquin de Monet, managing principal of Palisades Capital, said because the building already had tenants, the purchase was a good investment. The company plans to own the property for the foreseeable future, de Monet said.

Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, a Los Angeles investment manager, has launched a program under which it plans to make about $320 million of office-property acquisitions over the next two years.

The program's first acquisition was the 127,000-square-foot Cascade Station office complex in Portland, Ore., that it bought in April for $30 million, or about $236.22/sf, from Trammell Crow Co. The deal is an example of the other types of acquisitions that the Palisades Capital program expects to make. The investment program is expected to boost the property's value by increasing rents to market levels as leases roll in about four years. The program plans to hold Cascade Station and its other acquisitions for seven to 10 years. The program could further boost its buying power by bringing in investment partners on its deals. It would look to potentially co-invest directly with pension funds or other investment programs backed by high net-worth investors.

Palisades Capital Realty Advisors has acquired a 121,143-square-foot office building in Brea for $21 million. The building is located at 2929 E. Imperial Highway.

The property was built in 1985 and renovated in 2013. The office building is fully leased to companies such as Zodiak Inflight Innovations and Underwriters Laboratories. The seller, a joint venture between Rialto Capital and the Koll Co., was represented by Bob Prendergast and Baker Morphy of JLL's capital markets team.

Palisades Capital Realty Advisors recently closed on an Orange County office investment, paying $21 mil for a 121.1k sf ($173/sf) business park in Brea. The property is situated on a 5.57-acre parcel at 2929 E.

Imperial, at the northwest corner of Saturn St and Imperial Hwy. “We continue to see an uptick in investor interest for stabilized offices assets in Orange County and throughout Southern California," said Prendergast. "Investor competition will continue to be heated with very few properties expected to come to market in the next several months."

Chandler Corporate Center I, a 67-561-square-foot office property, has sold to Palisades Capital Realty Advisors for $13.9 million. The center is located at 585 N. Juniper Drive in Chandler, near the Price Road technology corridor...

Palisades Mexico Partners has made the first acquisition on behalf of a $50 million investment fund it has raised. It paid $20.8 million, or nearly $172/sf, for 2929 Imperial Highway, a 121,143-square-foot office building in Brea, Calif., in a deal brokered by JLL.

The property was purchased from an investor group, KWR Saturn LLC, which had bought it in 2012 for $10.8 million, when it was 60 percent leased. The property, which was managed by Koll Co., is now fully leased to Zodiac Aerospace and Underwriters Laboratories. Palisades Mexico lined up financing from RBS. The investment manager is a venture between Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, a Los Angeles consultancy, and Sergio Arguelles, president and chief executive of Finsa, one of Mexico's largest developers. De Monet, a 17-year industry veteran, previously had been a senior executive at GE Capital's Arden Realty operation.

The investment fund is a joint venture between Joaquin de Monet, the founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, and Sergio Arguelles, president and CEO of FINSA. The fund I was announced earlier this month while raising its initial $50 million. By the end of this year, PMP expects to have $100 million in commitments from Latin American foreign investors.

Palisades Capital Realty Advisors managing principal Joaquin de Monet's frequent trips to Mexico aren't just about cheering for the local soccer heroes in the World Cup.

Palisades Mexico Partners, his JV with Monterrey-based FINSA president Sergio Arguelles, has launched a fund to buy value-add, Class-A and B office properties in suburban Western US markets. Palisades Private Capital Fund I is raising $50M and slated to acquire three institutional-quality assets in SoCal, Texas, and Arizona.

Palisades Mexico Partners (PMP), a joint venture between Joaquin de Monet, founder and managing principal of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors, LLC, and Sergio Argüelles, president/CEO of Monterrey, Mexico-based FINSA, has announced the formation of Palisades Private Capital Fund I, which is currently raising $50 million and is scheduled to acquire three institutional-quality assets in Texas, Arizona and Southern California in the next month. The partnership is targeting $100 million in the coming months.

The former chief executive of Arden Realty and another investment pro have formed a joint venture that is seeking to raise at least $50 million of equity for a value-added fund that would buy office properties in the Western U.S.

The sponsors of the joint venture, called Palisades Mexico Partners, are Joaquin de Monet and Sergio Arguelles. De Monet, the former Arden executive, formed his own firm, Palisades Capital Realty of Los Angeles, a year ago. The fund, Palisades Private Capital Fund 1, would shoot for a 15% return by acquiring Class-A and -B office buildings in suburban markets in the Southwest, Southern California, the Pacific Northwest and Texas. The average projected occupancy rate at acquisition would be 75%. The fund would buy stabilized buildings to generate income until value-added and opportunistic investments gain traction.

Woodside Palisades Partners, a new venture formed between Joaquin Charles de Monet of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors and two Silicon Valley investors, have purchased two Portland, OR, class-A office buildings at Cascade Station.

Cascade Station is a mixed-use development considered to be the gateway to Portland International Airport. The two buildings—Cascade Station I and II—comprise 127,000 square feet and are located at the site of a key light rail airport connector as well as a mix of big box and name brand-size retail, several restaurants and three hotels. Cascade I is LEED Certified Gold. Kevin Shannon of CBRE represented the sellers.

Freddie Mac, Bank of China and New York Community Bank are all in the running to refinance a giant apartment portfolio in Uptown Manhattan and Roosevelt Island, according to a market player with knowledge of the discussions...

A pair of Class A office buildings in Portland has sold to joint venture Woodside Palisades Partners for an undisclosed sum.

The buildings, Cascade Station I and II, are located in the Cascade Station mixed use development. They contain a total of 127,000 square feet. Woodside Palisades Partners is a joint venture between Joaquin Charles de Monet of Palisades Capital Realty Advisors and two Silicon Valley investors. The unnamed sellers were represented by CBRE’s Kevin Shannon.

Trammell Crow Corp. has sold one of its signature Portland office projects to a new California-based partnership.

Woodside Palisades Partners, a venture between Joaquin Charles de Monet of Palisades, Calif. and two Silicon Valley investors, paid $30 million for the two-building Cascade Station office complex, 9500 and 9600 N.E. Cascades Parkway, near Portland International Airport. The price works out to $236 per square foot.

Trammell Crow constructed the 127,000-square-foot, LEED Gold complex during the run-up to the Great Recession. The project, in the heart of the Cascade Station retail and hotel district, is fully leased, with ITT and Wells Fargo NA as anchor tenants.

In a recent Oregon office buy, Woodside Palisades Partners purchased two Portland Class A office buildings at Cascade Station - a mixed-use development considered to be the gateway to Portland International Airport.

The buildings - Cascade Station I and II - were originally built in 2008 and 2009 by Trammell Crow and contain a combined 127k sf of space. The price was not disclosed.

“Since its 2005 launch, ecomagination – the company’s commitment to technology solutions that save money and reduce environmental impact for its customers and GE’s own operations – has generated more than US$160 billion in revenue.”

“The Spirit of Life, by its very name, represents the intangible qualities that make an individual’s life worthy of admiration: their generosity, their ability to inspire and their desire to make a difference in the world.”

For a list of past honorees click pdf below:

“Since 2001, Realcomm has been handing out the 'Digie' (Digital Innovation) Award, to recognize companies, people, projects and technologies that, with respect to automation, have made a significant impact on our industry.”

The Private Wealth Group at Latin Markets has worked extensively to provide a world class speaker faculty that will give you a detailed overview of asset allocation, tax, structuring, jurisdictions and estate planning issues in Latin America, the Caribbean. We’ve organized our Private Wealth series to facilitate the exchange of ideas between family offices, private banks and wealth managers.

As the economy and the real estate investment climate has improved, financing has continued to be a challenge for all investors. This has resulted in many developers using alternative financing channels like CROWDFUNDING which has greatly increased in interest and growth. To meet the educational and networking needs of the real estate investment community regarding these newer methods of alternative financing IMN has constructed an agenda for the real estate developer who is looking to finance their projects, the CROWDFUNDING portal, as well as other the service providers in this marketplace. From our largest conferences in the Opportunity Fund area, which attract 450+ fund and investors out of the 1000 attendees regularly, to our mid-sized series of bank real estate workout events that get 100+ workout officers to attend out of the 250 attendees we provide an environment where education will be provided by the buy side for the buy side and the networking goals of a diverse audience will be met.

This year’s theme, Capital – Inside Cycles, Outside Borders will explore the variety of factors contributing to the continued elimination of capital’s boundaries and offer insights into emerging opportunities. As investors seek to enhance global yields, it has become increasingly important to understand investment and economic cycles across markets, as well as property types and the corresponding risks. This knowledge enables investors to define a stronger investment strategy designed to deliver against their individual and corporate goals. However, the ability to realize extraordinary results requires thinking differently and applying a broader and deeper perspective. The 2015 CBRE Investor Symposium will challenge conventional thinking and invite guests to develop new and innovative ideas and approaches for future strategies.

This year’s theme: "New Trends Reshaping Real Estate." For 2015, we are going to focus on how capital flows, demographics and technology are reshaping real estate investment opportunities in the Americas for the institutional investor community. We will examine which parts of our economy and real estate market are at risk and which ones are not, as well as the new opportunity sets that are emerging. You will discuss with your peers which trends are real and which ones may be fads that will fade away. Our interactive format is designed to give you a full picture of what tomorrow may look like, so you can form your own action plan today.

Program Highlights: The Sharing Economy; Game Changers – Tech, Economy, and Real Estate

From interest rates to cap rates to geopolitical risk, our panelists address the 2015 macroeconomic outlook and what it means for commercial real estate values and investment. Among the issues under discussion are: With the end of quantitative easing, when will we see interest rates rise and by how much? Will this lead to instability within the CRE sector? Will inflation remain contained? How would inflation (from rental rates to costs of construction materials) really affect cash-flowing real estate investments? What can we expect from the Fed for the next two years that will impact CRE investment? Some analysts are predicting that 2015 will be the best year of economic recovery since the 2007 crash: How did fundamentals round out at year-end 2014? What can we expect in 2015?: Cap rates; unemployment rates/future job growth prospects; CRE loan prices/origination; default rates; CRE values? What does this all mean for CRE investment? Is Europe headed for yet another recession? Assessing how Euro-Zone and other global economic/political forces/instability will impact the US economy over the next 12-18 months: What will be the subsequent impact on the real estate markets?

Program Highlights: Opportunities for the Savvy CRE Investor: The Impact of Changing Demographic, Population and Technology Trends on Real Estate Investment ; Crowdfunding: Is it Worth the Hype?